Older people are a growing group for HM Revenue & Customs and significant numbers pay too much or too little tax, according to a report released today by the National Audit Office. Errors occur because many people’s tax affairs become more complicated when they reach pension age and HMRC’s systems do not cope well with […]
DWP does not yet have enough evidence to demonstrate that its activities to reduce the cost of mistakes by customers have been value for money. Although mistakes are difficult to detect, correct and prevent, the scale of overpayments and underpayments demonstrates a clear need for improvement.
This report looks at how much the Treasury’s Value for Money savings programme has improved value for money across government. The programme aims to achieve government-wide annual savings of £35 billion from 2008-09 to 2010-11.
The Whole of Government Accounts provide a unique perspective owing to their reach and approach to measuring the government’s financial performance and position.
Since privatisation, Ofwat and Defra have overseen major improvements in water quality and service quality. Customers have seen a marked rise in bills but not the benefits of companies’ unexpected financial gains.
This report examines how HM Treasury and HMRC manage tax measures that have an impact on the environment.
The approach to reducing the cost of regulation is set up to ensure that government can hit a £10bn target but misses the point by not truly reducing costs on businesses.
Local authorities have kept up levels of capital spending but face pressure to meet debt costs and maintain investment in existing assets.
This investigation assesses government’s oversight of the waste industry and what action is taken to address illegal activity.
Wave 1 City Deals encouraged cities to develop capacity to manage devolved funding and increased responsibility. It is too early to tell what impact they will have on growth.
HM Revenue & Customs faces large peaks in its workload but, by introducing different filing deadlines for paper and online Income Tax Self Assessment returns, it has smoothed some of those peaks. A National Audit Office report today found that, in 2007-08, HMRC received more than a quarter of the 4 million Tax Credit renewals […]
We have published a series of reports which explore some of the major risks to public finances highlighted in the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA).
The economic downturn has been largely responsible for a £21.7 billion reduction in taxes and duties collected by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2008-9, according to a report released today by the National Audit Office. Income Tax and National Insurance contributions fell by £5.7 billion; revenue from VAT fell by £6.4 billion (partly reflecting […]
DWP has not reduced the mistakes made by staff processing benefits. In 2009-10 it overpaid an estimated £1.1 billion and made underpayments of £500 million. However, the scale of the challenge facing the Department should not be underestimated.
We have published a series of reports which explore some of the major risks to public finances highlighted in the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA).
We have published a series of reports which explore some of the major risks to public finances highlighted in the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA).
HMRC has improved how it manages debts owed to it by taxpayers, according to a report by the National Audit Office. The amount of money owed has reduced from 4.3 per cent of tax collected in 2005-06 to 3.8 per cent in 2007-08. The age of the direct tax debt has also reduced. Over the […]
HMRC and the Treasury do not know if incentives designed to increase charitable giving, at a cost to the taxpayer of £940 million in 2012-13, have resulted in more income for charities.
This report examines the effectiveness of HMRC’s approach, in partnership with HM Treasury, in reducing the tax gap.